EUROPEAN UNION
Kallas warns of ‘catastrophe’
EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas yesterday warned that Ukraine was facing a “humanitarian catastrophe,” as Russian strikes cut power in frigid winter conditions. Despite US-led talks in Abu Dhabi to end the war, Russia was “bombing Ukrainians, trying to bomb and freeze them to surrender,” Kallas said. “It’s a very hard winter and Ukrainians are really suffering. There is a humanitarian catastrophe coming there,” she said at the start of an EU meeting in Brussels. Russia has stepped up its strikes against Ukraine’s power and heating infrastructure, plunging residents into darkness and cold as temperatures have dropped as low as minus-20C. The EU is looking to step up support for Ukraine’s power grid and is preparing a new round of sanctions on Moscow for the fourth anniversary of its invasion next month. Swedish Minister of Foreign Affairs Maria Stenergard called for “a full services maritime ban on all Russian vessels that transport energy” to further curb Moscow’s revenues. She also urged a ban on fertilizer imports from Russia and a prohibition on exporting luxury goods from the EU to the country.
Photo: EPA
UNITED STATES
Chinese man gets asylum
An immigration judge on Wednesday granted asylum to a Chinese man who fled his country after documenting sites of alleged human rights abuses against Uighurs, his mother and lawyer said. Guan Heng (關恆), 38, had been detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in August, sparking fear among activists and supporters that he could be sent back to China where they said he would likely face persecution. His lawyer, Chen Chuangchuang (陳闖創), said that his actions “driven by his extraordinary moral courage, are worthy of US government protection.” In late 2021, Guan published a 20-minute video online detailing his travel around the northwestern Xinjiang region, visiting alleged detention facilities for Uighurs.
JAPAN
Tokyo University apologizes
University of Tokyo officials on Wednesday issued a public apology after a second medical professor was arrested for bribery, including allegedly accepting sexual services, while working for the top school. Tokyo police last week arrested dermatology professor Shinichi Sato in connection with accepting expensive meals, visits to hostess clubs and even accepting sexual services at “soapland” establishments. “As an educational and research institution, we have profoundly betrayed the trust of society, and we offer our deepest and most sincere apologies,” university president Teruo Fujii told a news conference, pledging reforms at the school. It followed the November arrest of a plastic surgeon who allegedly accepted bribes from a medical equipment manufacturer.
PAKISTAN
Nipah screening ordered
Authorities have ordered enhanced screening of people entering the country for signs of Nipah virus infections after India confirmed two cases, adding to the number of Asian countries stepping up controls. Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam have also tightened screening at airports. The Nipah virus can cause fever and brain inflammation and has a high mortality rate. There is no vaccine. However, transmission from person to person is not easy and typically requires prolonged contact with an infected individual. Taiwan is to officially list Nipah virus infection as a category 5 notifiable infection disease in March.
PRECARIOUS RELATIONS: Commentators in Saudi Arabia accuse the UAE of growing too bold, backing forces at odds with Saudi interests in various conflicts A Saudi Arabian media campaign targeting the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has deepened the Gulf’s worst row in years, stoking fears of a damaging fall-out in the financial heart of the Middle East. Fiery accusations of rights abuses and betrayal have circulated for weeks in state-run and social media after a brief conflict in Yemen, where Saudi airstrikes quelled an offensive by UAE-backed separatists. The United Arab Emirates is “investing in chaos and supporting secessionists” from Libya to Yemen and the Horn of Africa, Saudi Arabia’s al-Ekhbariya TV charged in a report this week. Such invective has been unheard of
US President Donald Trump on Saturday warned Canada that if it concludes a trade deal with China, he would impose a 100 percent tariff on all goods coming over the border. Relations between the US and its northern neighbor have been rocky since Trump returned to the White House a year ago, with spats over trade and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney decrying a “rupture” in the US-led global order. During a visit to Beijing earlier this month, Carney hailed a “new strategic partnership” with China that resulted in a “preliminary, but landmark trade agreement” to reduce tariffs — but
SCAM CLAMPDOWN: About 130 South Korean scam suspects have been sent home since October last year, and 60 more are still waiting for repatriation Dozens of South Koreans allegedly involved in online scams in Cambodia were yesterday returned to South Korea to face investigations in what was the largest group repatriation of Korean criminal suspects from abroad. The 73 South Korean suspects allegedly scammed fellow Koreans out of 48.6 billion won (US$33 million), South Korea said. Upon arrival in South Korea’s Incheon International Airport aboard a chartered plane, the suspects — 65 men and eight women — were sent to police stations. Local TV footage showed the suspects, in handcuffs and wearing masks, being escorted by police officers and boarding buses. They were among about 260 South
Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) purge of his most senior general is driven by his effort to both secure “total control” of his military and root out corruption, US Ambassador to China David Perdue said told Bloomberg Television yesterday. The probe into Zhang Youxia (張又俠), Xi’s second-in-command, announced over the weekend, is a “major development,” Perdue said, citing the family connections the vice chair of China’s apex military commission has with Xi. Chinese authorities said Zhang was being investigated for suspected serious discipline and law violations, without disclosing further details. “I take him at his word that there’s a corruption effort under
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